Appeals will not be heard from the parents of eight students expelled from Saltus Grammar School, according to school trustees head Will Cox.A 14-year-old student was sent to hospital with a fractured rib, minor concussion and bruising, following a December 16 “birthday punches” incident on school property.“We view this as a serious incident which resulted in serious consequences, and our paramount concern is for the safety of our students,” Mr Cox said, adding that the expulsions were now “a closed matter”.The mother of one of the expelled students said parents had received a letter from Mr Cox on Friday and she had attempted to argue the school’s decision over the weekend.“Mr Cox is sticking by what (headmaster) Ted Staunton says, which is that this was a brutal attack. But anyone who knows my son can’t believe it. Anybody who knows these kids personally thinks this hasn’t been done right.”Parents of the expelled eight have been meeting independently to talk, she said.“We plan on having another get-together this weekend of boys and parents to reiterate that our kids made a big mistake, and have them encourage each other and others to restrain themselves.”Her own son has been accepted into another school, she added, and starts there today.“They will have some counselling for my son and talk to him about how he feels about this, so I’m happy for that.”She said the boy who had been injured had been back in Saltus for a week.“We still want our boys to apologise (to him) and know they’re still friends.”